Southington To Install Roadside Surveillance Cameras

SOUTHINGTON, CT — With vehicle-related crimes skyrocketing, town officials have approved a new surveillance system for the local police — one allowing them to track vehicle license plates to figure out where and when vehicles are in town.

But while the Southington Town Council vote July 10 was unanimous to pursue the program, many council members expressed privacy concerns associated with affixing 22 cameras at random spots in town to track vehicles.

Following lengthy presentations and some discussion, the council voted to authorize Southington Town Manager Mark Sciota to utilize funds through cash earmarked as a dispatch subsidy, then budget for the annual amount in future years.

The town would hire FLOCK Safety out of Atlanta, Ga., to install the cameras at 22 spots in town. FLOCK was founded in 2017 and specializes in high-tech security surveillance systems.

The two-year contract would cost the town $80,300 total in the first year and then $66,000 a year afterward. The first-year cost includes a $14,3000 installation fee.

Ultimately, council members balanced privacy worries with worries about a huge spike in car thefts and vehicle burglaries in town.

Council members were assured by Southington police and legal officials that the system is similar to already-utilized police vehicle cameras that can scan license plates that have been in place for a decade.

It cannot, they said at an in-depth discussion on the matter last week, verify identities of people in the vehicle, just the license plate and certain vehicle characteristics.

Plus, authorities said, camera data would delete itself after 30 days if no searches are made for them, meaning an innocent vehicle who drove by a camera would have its information gone after a certain period of time.

The hope is better data on vehicles coming and going into town could help police wage war against this spike in vehicle crimes and other offenses. They would not be used to enforce traffic laws.

According to Southington Police Chief Jack Daly, just past the halfway point of 2023, there have been 61 vehicles stolen in Southington. He said a year ago, there was a total of 62 in 2022.

Meanwhile, he said, there have been 142 reported vehicle burglaries in 2023 with a total of 162 in all of 2022.

Southington Deputy Police Chief Bill Palmieri said the surveillance cameras can capture vehicle makes, models, license plate numbers and the license plate states.

In addition, he said, they can get "unique features" such as bumper stickers, luggage racks and/or bicycle racks.

According to Palmieri, this data collection system would also help with missing person alerts, Amber alerts and tracking down persons of interest in criminal cases.

Town of Southington Corporation Counsel Alex Ricciardone addressed some of the privacy concerns some in town and on the council had.

Ricciardone pointed out many towns, such as Cheshire, have implemented this system and if more towns participate in this data collection system, departments could work together to track down suspects.

For more information on FLOCK Safety out of Atlanta, Ga., click on this link.

For the minutes of the July 10 Southington Town Council meeting, click on this link.